Michigan business owners take aim at oil pipelines to protect environment, livelihoods

Leaders form Great Lakes Business Network

"If there's a spill, I'm done. Our marina is done. Our 225 employees are done," Chris Shepler, owner of Shepler's Mackinac Island Ferry, said of a possible oil spill from the pipeline that runs under the Straits of Mackinac.

A group of Michigan business leaders have joined forces to rally against oil pipelines running through the Great Lakes and their potential for damage to the environmental and their livelihoods.

The new alliance, called the Great Lakes Business Network, is demanding politicians and legislators put an end to operations of Enbridge Line 5, which runs under the Straits of Mackinac.

Founding members of the Great Lakes Business Network include:

Bar Fly, Grand Rapids

Bell's Brewery, Comstock

Beth Price Photography, Traverse City

Cherry Republic, Glen Arbor

Grand Rapids Brewing Co., Grand Rapids

HopCat, Grand Rapids

Lake Charlevoix Brewing Co., Charlevoix

Shepler's Mackinac Island Ferry, Mackinaw City

Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak, Empire

Patagonia Inc., Ventura, Calif.

During a conference call with media Wednesday, the business owners voiced their concerns and made clear their demands for alternatives to the pipelines.

Larry Bell, owner of Bell's Brewery, said he has seen first-hand the devastation of oil spills, referring to the Enbridge pipe burst in 2010 in Kalamazoo that resulted in the largest inland oil spill in the United States.

"This is not only an environmental risk, but a business risk," Bell said. "The pipeline is a liability to businesses and residents of Michigan."

Bell sued Enbridge for setting up next to his Kalamazoo brewery without a permit, he said, and he cannot take its word for safety given its track record.

Oil pipelines carry about 23 million gallons of oil daily beneath the Mackinac straits, where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet.

One of the reasons the Michigan craft beer industry has boomed is the access to fresh water from the Great Lakes. An oil spill would compromise the water, a brewer's most precious ingredient.

The livelihood of Chris Shepler, owner of Shepler's Mackinac Island Ferry, which shuttles thousands of people every year to and from Mackinac Island, also depends on clean water and a healthy Great Lakes.

"This is a very important issue for businesses in this state," Shepler said in a news release. "... This pipeline threatens all of that. That's why it's the top topic of conversation in Northern Michigan."

A University of Michigan study concluded more than 700 miles of shoreline and more than 17,000 square miles of open water are potentially at risk, including iconic tourism destinations such as Mackinac Island, from an oil spill.

Enbridge Line 5 was finished in the early 1950s and is capable of carrying more than half a million barrels of oil per day.

Enbridge said in a statement to Crain's that it looks forward to meeting with the business leaders.

"Line 5 is vital to the state’s economy and energy security. ... Line 5 provides 65 percent of the propane used in the U.P. and 55 percent statewide," it said in the statement.

"We share the concerns expressed by so many Michiganders who want to protect the natural resources that define the state and its people."

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality issued a permit last October for Enbridge to install four additional supports beneath Line 5.

Beryl Skrocki's initiative to convince residents and lawmakers to oppose the pipelines is driven by a simple concept: "You protect what you love," the owner of Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak said. "The Great Lakes are the lifeblood of northern Michigan."

The National Wildlife Federation and Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities are the acting fiscal agents and organizers for the Great Lakes Business Network, working in collaboration with the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, the release stated.